A former Hibs player says he fears racism is worse now in the sport than when he started out.
Speaking after a Show Racism The Red Card friendly match between Wallyford Bluebells FC and Haddington Town AFC in Musselburgh, Kevin Harper said action must come now.
The Easter Road hero has been a strong campaigner in the fight against racism for almost 30 years, and he said he first hand experience of being let down by footballing authorities after being involved in a high profile accusation of racist abuse.
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Speaking on the need for action to tackle racism he said: “I think we have to stop talking. It’s great it is out there in the press but we have to see action or else it will forever exist as an elephant in the room.
“I’ve been championing the antiracism cause in football for around 30 years and I have not seen anything of value done about it in the higher echelons of football. The powers that be are scared to speak about racism but we have to force their hand in order to make a change for the better that it will benefit everyone.
“I think in a way it has become worse but I am unsure if that is just the amplification through social media. There does seem to be more of it now, with no action being taken. Kudela, the Slavia Prague player, that racially abused Glen Kamara got a ten game ban and that was a joke, it was just a token gesture. We need to start introducing harsh punishments or it will never end.
“I think there are different avenues to go down for top level mainstream Scottish football. For starters there has to be bans lasting a year or even a lifetime. You also need to start hitting clubs in the pocket. It is the only way they will change.
“Look at the super club proposal, I know it is slightly different, but once the clubs knew their finances were being threatened they quickly fell into line.
“If fans are shouting out racist abuse then we have to begin deducting clubs points. Fans would quickly begin to self police if the club was being dealt a hefty fine or deducted points - imagine losing out on Europe because of racism or being relegated? It would set a precedent as no club in Scotland can afford to lose six or seven figure sums. At the moment all we see is token gestures.
“At the grassroots level I think we need to start banning players for life and deducting points but it has to be consistent across the levels.
“It is relatively easy to determine when a racial incident occurs. You see the anger erupt from players on the pitch - that doesn’t happen if someone calls you ‘a wee d*ck.’”
The friendly had been organised after three cases of racial abuse had been reported in as many weeks to the Lothian and Edinburgh Amateur Football Association.
The two teams involved, Wallyford and Haddington, had players on the receiving end of the aforementioned reported racial abuse.
Local East Lothian MSP, Paul McLennan, was in attendance at the match along with representatives from Show Racism The Red Card Scotland.
Wallyford won the closely contested friendly 3-2.
Wallyford player Kamran Tufail, better known as Pinkie, had been subject to three incidents of racial abuse in the last 18 months before his team decided to withdraw from a tournament to make a stand against racism in early July.
He said: “The game with Haddington was important to show that we stand together in solidarity and will not let the uneducated minority win. We need to publicise the fact that racism is still a massive problem in football and in our society. The guys from ‘Show Racism The Red Card” were there to help show that and have worked tirelessly for 25 years to make others aware that racism is still a regular occurrence in football and in all walks of life.
“Paul McLennan, the local MSP was watching our game and is determined to make a difference and is arranging to have meetings with Hearts, Hibs and some league board members to discuss what can be done. Hopefully this is the first step to seeing an agreement in place that clubs and leagues will all be willing to take the right action when required.”
Tony IP, was racially abused during a match with East Calder earlier this month. Haddington thanked East Calder for their handling of the incident but the club feels more has to be done at the top level of the sport for change to be meaningful.
Tony said: “I think we need to better educate our children from an extremely young age in order to prevent this from happening. In terms of LEAFA we need to start seeing lifetime bans dished out to players as it is the only way it will stop.
“The friendly was extremely important to highlight and I think both teams have sent out a message that we want to stamp out racism in the game as well as society as a whole.”
A spokesperson for Show Racism The Red Card, said: “Show Racism the Red Card attended the match between Haddington Town and Wallyford Bluebell FC to give our support to players in both teams who have been at the receiving end of on field racist abuse.
“It is a great credit to the teams and their managers that they have chosen to make a stand - and we will work with them alongside Lothians MPS Paul McLennan and others to ensure that racism is dealt with seriously and rapidly in the LEAFA Sunday League.
“For players to have any faith in the complaints process there must be action taken, not just lip service, when it comes to confronting and eradicating racism from the game.”
“We once more send our solidarity to the teams and to anyone experiencing racism at football. It should be something that brings us together - and we are committed to working with Haddington Town and Wallyford to kick racism out of football.”
